The Dead One

1st watched 11/26/2014 – 4 out of 10(Dir-Brian Cox): Slow starting comic book adaptation stars Wilmer Valderrama(from TV's "That 70's Show") as a young man chosen to bring back an old Aztec religion and ends up turning into a healing superhero-like deceased man after his vehicle collides with a tree bringing his demise and bringing his spirit into the current world 1 year later. Valderrama's character is promising by the end of the movie, but unfortunately it takes that long to see the potential and then the movie is over. The film starts with an elderly man dying and presenting to the young version of the main character the fact that he expects him to be the one to bring back the old time religion. There is a lot of hokeyness to this premise explaining that the Aztecs were killed off and will supposedly return to prominence in the future after three days of rain while the sun is shining. During Valderrama's ghostlike return to the world he begins hearing weird voices in his head and starts healing others despite the negative voices wanting him to kill those who might stop the inevitable from happening(the current priests). So what we have is kind of a spirit-world bad vs. evil going on. Valderrama is fine in this character but the timidness early on kind of makes the movie boring. The evil spirit then starts killing the priests initially thru Valderrama's character and then takes over an elderly woman and a confrontation occurs late in the movie. The confrontation is interesting which makes you think there could be an interesting follow-up movie but I don't think this is going to happen. The movie is un-eventful although not horrible, but isn't well made enough for anyone to take notice. I liked seeing Valderrama breaking out of his comedic sissy-like character to tackle a fuller character and he did well considering the lack of depth he was given. This fair at best movie will probably not give him too many other opportunities, unfortunately.

Okay... I get the similarities to "The Crow" and the fact that it's supposed to be a comic book adaptation, and I understand that even "Fez" needs to work these days, but come on... This is the best they could come up with? It's just plain... Silly. I guess our economic frenzy has hit Hollywood just as hard, because it's sad to see great character actors like: Michael Parks, Billy Drago and Maria Alonso reduced to this pathetic piece of garbage. It amazes me, that something this bad could make it onto cable pay channels, let alone directly after the wonderful "Masters of Horror". This belongs hidden from plain site, on the back shelf of a family owned video store, and covered with dust from lack of rental. It sounds harsh, but producers need to understand this, and quit insulting our intelligence. I'll give it a 2 for above average acting and cinematography, but that's it. This is a train wreck from the get go, and doesn't deserve to be aired on something we have to pay for on a monthly basis.

There have been zombie films, superhero flicks, Latino features and teen romance movies, but this is the first Latino zombie superhero teen romance! And this isn't your uncle's zombie film as El Muerto, unlike other members of the walking dead, can run around during the day, feel love, fight evil and he doesn't have a taste for human flesh.

The motion picture is based on the El Muerto comic by Javier Hernandez, published by Los Comex. It is one of the most faithful transfers of a comic book to the screen as adapted by director Brian Cox. The film's title sequence pays reverence to its origins, featuring art by Hernandez that evokes the opening of many Sergio Leone films (Coincidently the film is produced by unrelated Leones).

Contrary to many comic book films that take forever setting up the origin of the character, El Muerto swiftly unfolds his beginnings and gets to the action, establishing his motivation, his powers and the conflict of being a teen zombie. Young Diego (Wilmer Valderrama, yes Fez from That 70s Show) crosses Mictlantecuhtli, the Aztec God of Death and has his still-beating heart (if not his soul) plucked from him. His love for his girlfriend Maria (the beautiful Angie Cepeda) helps brings him back from the Land of Death, much to the surprise of his friend Zak (Joel David Moore of Art School Confidential) and others.

A series of gruesome deaths and some omens lead them to believe the God of Death is up to no good and only Diego as El Muerto can stop him! El Muerto has something for everyone and will even appeal to people who wouldn't be caught dead watching a zombie movie. This is a zombie film for the entire family! It has an engaging action and a romantic theme, believable special effects, great music and sound design. It boasts many incredible actors like Michael Parks (Kill Bill), Tony Plana (now in "Ugly Betty"), Maria Conchita Alonso and Tony Amendola. The underused and underrated Billy Drago (The Untouchables) makes an impression in a stunning performance.

Some cite the character's similarity to the Crow, but they are night and day. They're both black-clad reanimated corpses with make-up on, but that's where it ends. Whereas the Crow is dark and cynical, El Muerto is light and positive. Though hearts get ripped out and there's other gore, it's tastefully done, usually off screen though still with impact.

With Wilmer Valderrama in the lead, it should attract a wide female and teen audience. One gets the feeling that this film will ultimately have long legs on video and become a cult/mainstream favorite as the years pass. It's a great character and should inspire many fun sequels and spin-offs.

First off this film has yet to be seen in any theater because the Los Angeles VIP premier was but a few days ago. This movie(YES I actually did see this) was utterly excellent because it was a thriller and a comic crossover. This was such a refreshing movie because every "Scary" scene was not gore and random CGI filling the screen until your absolutely disgusted. No, this retraced the steps of all great horror scenes: the music, the absence of gore that makes your own imagination so much more terrifying and vivid than anything that could be portrayed visually, and having an all star cast like: Tony Plana and Billy Drago! Though this film is a comic-to-movie film, it lacked the major budget that most of these types of films have. This movie does pace slow but it is visually stunning... that is not filled with random flying body parts, but with actual plot and suspense. Even without this movie being filled with blood, gore, and CGI it still made half of the audience jump at the premier!!!

This is a great little movie. I love everything Day of the Dead and have been to Mexico several times and really enjoy the festival. This movie captures a lot of the feel of the holiday, set in a border town. The lead's costume is wonderful. I saw this with my boyfriend and while he liked it a lot, he found the ancient mythologies confusing. I figure that almost no one around can tell you a thing about Aztec, Mayan and Inca gods so I just accepted it all that it made sense. The acting is excellent. The eeriness was there, and the settings, particularly the cemetery, worked. I'm so happy to see a film like this out there. It shows that horror is a multi-dimensional genre and that not all films are Jason and Freddie. Kudos to the makers of this soft horror film. I hope it's successful for you.